By the time Damon finished with Sakura, he was in a far better mood than when he had first entered the hospital. The pink-haired kunoichi had tried her best to keep things professional, but the longer the examination went on, the harder that became for her, and Damon would be lying to himself if he said he had not enjoyed that a little more than he should have.
Still, pleasant distractions never lasted long.
The moment he stepped out into the corridor, one of the village shinobi was already waiting for him. The man straightened immediately the moment he saw him, his expression carrying a level of respect Damon was not used to seeing from just anyone.
"Naruto, Lady Tsunade wants you at the Hokage building immediately."
Damon looked at him for a moment before letting out a quiet breath. Of course she did. After everything that had happened, there had never really been a chance he was getting away without questions.
By the time he arrived at the Hokage building, the atmosphere inside made it obvious this was not going to be some casual talk. Tsunade was already there waiting for him, Shizune stood nearby, and to Damon's mild annoyance, even the toads from Mount Myoboku had been called in. The moment he stepped into the room, every eye turned toward him at once, making it painfully clear that all of them had been waiting for his arrival.
Yeah... this was going to be one of those days.
"You've got a lot of explaining to do, Naruto-chan," Tsunade said, wasting no time.
Damon let out a tired breath and looked at everyone in the room.
"I know," he said. "Trust me, I know."
Still, despite the words, Damon did not look particularly nervous. If anything, he looked more like someone trying to figure out how much he could say without creating even more problems for himself later.
Tsunade noticed it immediately.
A faint frown appeared on her face as she studied him. There was a lot she wanted to ask, but one thing was sitting above all the others. Reports from Amegakure had already spread through the village, and even before that there had been enough witnesses to make it impossible to ignore.
Wood Release.
That alone would have been enough to shake anyone who knew what it meant.
"So how exactly do you have Mokuton?" Pa asked quickly, clearly deciding it was better to get straight to the point before Tsunade's patience started wearing thin.
Damon did not hesitate.
"I don't know. It just awakened one day," he lied.
There were many things he could say, but there were even more he could not. If he told the truth, they would think he was insane, lying, or both. What was he supposed to say? That he came from another pantheon and had spent more than a thousand years reincarnating through different bodies before ending up here? No one here would believe that.
And honestly, he had no interest in dealing with an Amaterasu who was already angry enough as it was.
Tsunade's expression made it clear she did not fully believe him, and Damon already knew that could become a problem later.
"Mokuton was never some bloodline exclusive to the Senju," Damon continued as calmly as possible. "Before or after Hashirama, how many others in the Senju clan ever used it? Exactly. It just awakened. Nobody really knows how or why... and it happened to me too."
He even shrugged at the end like it was the most normal thing in the world.
If I could, I'd pat myself on the back for that performance, Damon thought, earning a silent stare from Kurama.
"When?" Tsunade asked, more curious now, though the annoyance had not fully left her voice.
"During my training trip with Jiraiya. We went to a village where some bandits had kidnapped the chief's daughter. I was alone in the forest near the village, training, when I ran into them... and during the fight, Mokuton awakened. Jiraiya helped me get it under control and taught me a jutsu your grandfather used."
"I knew it," Tsunade muttered under her breath, falling into thought before narrowing her eyes at him again. "Why didn't either of you tell me?"
"Well, Jiraiya told me I shouldn't show it or talk about it unless it became necessary, since it would attract the attention of people who'd want to use me as some kind of tool for their own plans."
Danzo, Tsunade thought immediately.
"As for why he didn't tell you later... that part I don't know. Maybe he was waiting for a moment where I had better control over Mokuton so he could show off his best student or something," Damon said with a shrug.
That answer made everyone there except Damon sweat a little. Still... none of them could deny that it did sound like something Jiraiya would do. After all, the man loved bragging about being Minato Namikaze's teacher whenever he got the chance.
Coff, coff.
The old toad coughed into his hand, trying to steer the conversation away before Jiraiya's reputation took any more damage.
"And Sage Mode?" he asked.
"Hashirama Senju managed to enter Sage Mode through Mokuton. What makes you think I wouldn't be able to?" Damon replied.
"Yeah, but even he had help—"
"So did I," Damon cut Pa off.
He then shifted a little, pointing toward his face, which still carried the marks of Sage Mode.
"When I learned how to enter this mode, it actually felt easier for me to enter the toads' Sage Mode too. I just had to gather natural energy and mix it with the chakra I got through the toad contract, and that was it."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"The end is getting closer."
A man's voice echoed through the hall, a voice that carried authority just by existing.
"Do you really think he can do it this time?" asked a beautiful woman standing beside him... but her question got no answer.
Everyone present in the room was watching what looked like a giant pool showing images from the mortal world. Right now, it showed a blond teenager talking to a woman. Silence filled the room, as if each of them had been pulled into their own thoughts because of the question asked moments earlier.
"So, you really did find something interesting this time, Amaterasu."
The deep voice of a man could be heard again, his eyes never leaving the strange pool that showed the image of the blond. His face was hidden behind a red mask, with only his golden eyes visible between the horns and fangs carved into it.
Amaterasu stayed silent while watching the man who had spoken. Then she shifted her gaze toward the one standing beside him after hearing him laugh.
"I never thought he would make it this far," said the man who had just laughed. He wore a similar mask, though his was blue instead of red. "Feels like yesterday when he was swinging that katana of his against the Titans."
Those words brought smiles to several faces in the room, pulling them out of their thoughts.
"Says the one who joined in to teach him," Amaterasu replied without taking her eyes off the pool.
"Fūjin."The man with the red mask spoke again.
"Why did you help him? I mean... you're not exactly the type to socialize. Getting close to someone is not like you," he asked without looking at him, still watching the blond's actions.
Even so, everyone in the room had already shifted their attention to the two of them. They had all been curious about that for a long time, but none of them had asked before.
"His eyes," Fūjin answered, making the man with the red mask finally look away from the pool and toward him. "When he arrived through that portal... I can say for certain everyone here saw the same eyes I did."
Silence settled over the room as they all thought about Fūjin's words.
"Eyes that wanted to become stronger. I've only ever seen eyes like that in mortals... but seeing them in an immortal makes it—"
"Interesting," the man with the red mask finished for him.
His face could not be seen, but everyone there was certain a smile was hiding beneath that mask. The same kind of smile he once had when he faced the blond in the past, only to lose despite winning many other fights before and after.
"The fact that he managed to awaken and start mastering chakra in so little time... that's what made me decide to train him," Fūjin added, raising a hand as small currents of air began swirling around him. "After all... we do have something in common."
Everyone in the hall turned back toward the strange pool, and what they saw surprised almost all of them. Naruto was looking up at the sky, but it was not some empty stare this time.
It looked more like he knew they were watching him, and that he was looking right back.
"HAHAHAHA!" A lone laugh echoed across the room.
"Looks like he still has those eyes."
As if fate itself had been listening, the moment those words were spoken, the pool turned black, as though the scene had changed all over again.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>.
Alright, guys war starts in the next chapter. With that said, if you like the story so far, show some support, drop a review, and throw some stones. I might drop everything and just jump straight ahead to the next arc, as many of you have already expressed your discomfort with the current state of the story. lol
I am Hades Fic??? Any ideas lol
By the way, join the discord for the pics lol https://discord.gg/xkf3KbcY